Haunting Memories
by Moana Fan Girl
Summary: Maui is haunted by memories that just won't leave him alone. Will he go back to Moana, or will he leave and go someplace where he could try to forget her? Set after Maui left the battle with Te Kā.


Maui looked down at his reflection in the water, wondering why he'd abandoned Moana in the first place. The only thing he knew was that he felt fear, yet he denied it. He was a demigod, he wasn't supposed to feel fear! He was supposed to be brave when it came to this kind of stuff! Heck, he'd fought other monsters scarier than Te Kā herself! But during their conversation, Maui didn't want Moana to know. He didn't want to seem scared, so he did what he could to hide his own fear. That was a decision he regretted, but what else was he supposed to do? Look like a fake?! Though the words he'd said haunted him.

* * *

_"I am Moana of Motunui." Moana said, sounding as if she could cry at any moment._

_"Goodbye, Moana." He said, his back turned to her._

_"You will board my boat, sail across the sea..."_

_Suddenly he turned around to face her yelling, "I'm not killing myself so you can prove you're something you're not!"_

_"...And restore the Heart of Te Fiti." She continued despite what he had said, her hand holding out the Heart, "The ocean chose me!"_

_"It chose wrong." Maui said, looking her right in the eyes. Then, without another word - nor thought - Maui changed to a hawk and flew away._

_"MAUI!!" He heard her cry out, but he didn't bother looking back._

* * *

As he recalled what had happened not too long ago, he became mad at himself.

_STUPID!!_ He thought, balling his hands into fists as he stomped up to a rock, _I abandoned her when she needed me the most! Just like my own parents did to me!_

He let out a huff as he kicked the giant rock before sucking air in through his teeth and holding his toes from the pain. Being alone again felt like being on his island, and he felt he was being punished once again for abandoning his best friend out on the sea, except he had his powers and his hook.

* * *

_"Maybe...the ocean chose you for a reason." Moana said, sitting next to him on the canoe, "Because it saw someone worthy of being saved." Maui pondered those words in his head as she continued, "The gods aren't what made you Maui. You are."_

* * *

Maui was haunted by those words, especially since she had told him – not once, but twice – that the ocean had chosen her. He even heard her saying to herself that it chose her for a reason after they had climbed the mountain to Lalotai. He then remembered the times she had been helped back onto the boat by the ocean, and the many times something was thrown in then put – or thrown – back onto the boat. Remembering that made him remember the time he had thrown the Heart into the ocean believing it to be cursed, then having it thrown back at him. But by now he had no doubt it was cursed after what had happened to cause him to give up and abandon her in the first place.

* * *

_"We're here because you stole the Heart in the first place!" Moana said accusingly, though Maui knew it was true._

_"No we're here because the ocean told you that you were special, and you believed it!" Maui said as he turned around to face her._

* * *

Maui went back to the water to look at his reflection again, but as he reached the shore and went to put his hook down, he looked at it. Gently placing his hand over the crack with the scorch mark over it, he began to remember – _again_ – what he had told her, though he wished he hadn't.

* * *

_"Without my hook, I am nothing." He said quietly, holding his hook in his hands._

_"That's not true–"_

_"WITHOUT MY HOOK, I AM NOTHING!!!" He shouted, glaring at her._

* * *

He quickly looked away from his hook, remembering the fear in her eyes and how she was shuddering. He secretly hated himself for that, even after he had intimidated her. But he was too upset then to notice it. He then dropped his hook on the ground before staring at his reflection.

_What have I become?_ He thought, gazing down at his reflection, hating what he saw, _I-I... Did I become like my... My parents?_ He glared at his reflection, even giving it his warrior face, but nothing seemed to make it go away, his reflection only copying what he did.

His anger began to grow once more. He _hated_ being reminded of his parents when it came to abandoning his friends and the ones he cares about! He looked at the water one last time. Then, another memory hit him.

* * *

_"You'll be a hero." Moana said, trying to coax him into agreeing with sailing to Te Fiti._

* * *

Maui clenched his fists, remembering how kind she was to him despite how rude he was to her in the past. He then glared out to the horizon.

_I can't give up now._ He thought, picking up his hook, _If I do give up, I'll let all the mortals – including Moana – down. And I don't want that. And I definitely don't want her to die at the hands of a giant lava monster._

He then remembered how she never gave up, before he changed to a giant hawk, then flew off to look for her.

_If I'll be a hero for helping her__, then I will!_ He thought, _I won't be just everyone's hero, I'll be hers as well! I'll show her what a true hero I can be__!_

* * *

**Okay****, I know this one-shot is 958 words long, but I was inspired to do this by the story _Regret_. And yes, it is another _Moana_ fanfic I read earlier today.**

**Also this story is kinda like a "What-If". So it's like, "What if Mini Maui wasn't the one to talk to him (since the Disney wiki states that in the novelization, Mini Maui was the one to do it) but he was instead haunted by his memories?" So I decided to go with that.**

**As for the island, imagine it as his if you want.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a review if you want to.**


End file.
